Charlie Wilson's War
I don't share Aaron Sorkin's politics, but I was way impressed after seeing
A Few Good Men onstage, so he was what dragged me out when I would've ordinarily stayed in and watched XF.
I loved this movie! It doesn't get any better than watching Phillip Seymour Hoffman doing
comedy penned by Sorkin. Comedy, folks! That's what sold me since most political movies are too preachy for my taste. But this one is more concerned with telling a great story (based on a true story, too) in an entertaining way; the politics was just part of the landscape. There are tons of political thriller/action flicks, but I've never seen one where the conspiracy and intrigue is 90% delivered by two people (barely more than 2-3 people on screen most of the time) bantering in jokes and sarcasm. That's not to say it was all jaded flippancy, which would have turned me off just as much as if it had gone preachy. You could tell in between all the schmoozing, the characters weren't souless scoffers, but they cared about what was going on - and I think that's a credit to whoever decided to cast Tom Hanks as the woman-chasing, boozehound politician instead of someone like, oh, George Clooney (ugh).
If you've had your fill of all the other comedy genres - dorky/stupid/toilet/nerdy,etc - and need something more substantive to bring the lolz, go check out all the fantastic witty repartee in this one! I'm going to watch it again tommorrow. :)
Rating: 9/10
Choice Quote:
Charlie Wilson [to CIA agent Gust]: You're no James Bond.
Gust Avrakotos [to politician Wilson]: You're no Thomas Jefferson, either. Let's call it even.